


Luck of the Draw

by Blizzard96



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Cardverse, The Cardverse AU that no one asked for
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-13
Updated: 2017-09-21
Packaged: 2018-12-01 21:05:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 17,692
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11494728
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Blizzard96/pseuds/Blizzard96
Summary: In which Joshua wishes he had learned how to stack the deck (or at least a better poker face).





	1. Joshua Goes Clubbing

“Ah, you’re awake.” Joshua opened his eyes slowly upon hearing the voice. “I was worried you were dead.” Trees appeared in his vision and he grunted as the sunlight shining through the leaves hit his eyes.

“Wha-?” he began.

“Don’t move!” the voice advised too late as Joshua made to sit up. His head immediately swam, black spots swarming his vision, and he would’ve collapsed had a hand not appeared on his shoulder to steady him. “I warned you,” the voice sighed. Joshua finally looked in the direction of the voice to see a handsome boy with black hair leaning over him.

“Who are you?” Joshua asked. He glanced around to see trees surrounding them. “Where am I?”

The boy sighed. “My name is Jonghyun. I was walking to visit a friend and found you lying on the ground.” He eventually released Joshua’s shoulder to offer his hand. “Are you injured? Do you think you can stand?” 

Joshua did a quick check and found nothing seemed to be seriously injured, though his body ached from sleeping on the ground. He accepted Jonghyun’s hand gratefully. “Thanks,” he said, getting to his feet.

“Oh!” Jonghyun exclaimed, looking at Joshua’s hand, still in his grasp. “You’re new!”

“What?” Joshua asked, bewildered. He pulled his hand out of the other boy’s grasp warily.

“Sorry,” Jonghyun apologized sheepishly, scratching the back of his neck. “There just hasn’t been a new arrival in a while.”

“New arrival?” Joshua repeated.

The other boy nodded. “To the Decks.” He waved a hand through the air. “That’s what this region is called.”

“Uh, I guess I am,” Joshua replied. “I’ve never heard of the Decks before though.” He finally felt worry begin to settle in. He stuffed his hands in his pockets only to find his wallet and phone were missing, which was not an encouraging sign. The fear only grew when he realized he couldn’t remember much from before he fell passed out.

Jonghyun gave him a secretive smile like it was some kind of inside joke. “It’s not very well known. Don’t worry about it.”

“I need to get home though!” Joshua protested. He turned around to examine the ground in hopes of locating his missing valuables. “Have you seen a phone or wallet anywhere?”

Jonghyun shook his head. “Nope.”

Joshua groaned. “Well, apparently I’ve been robbed too.”

The other boy grimaced sympathetically. “If it’s any consolation, neither would do much good here. There’s no cell service in this place. Trust me.” Joshua stared at him, making Jonghyun cough. “Uh, yeah I’m probably not helping. Sorry.”

“Wait a minute,” Joshua said. “How were you able to tell that I was new?”

“Oh well, you haven’t claimed a Suit yet,” Jonghyun explained without really explaining anything. He raised his right hand and Joshua could see a large ‘J’ marking the back of his hand like a tattoo. “You would’ve been marked if you had.”

Joshua frowned. “What’s a Suit?”

“The Decks is controlled by three Suits, which are kind of like kingdoms,” Jonghyun told him. “Hearts, Diamonds, and Clubs.”

Joshua raised an eyebrow, skeptical. “What, no Spades?”

“Those don’t exist anymore,” Jonghyun said with a wince. “Don’t bring them up. It’s a touchy subject for a lot of occupants here.” 

Joshua nodded like he understood. “So, what’s the ‘J’ stand for then?”

“Jonghyun,” the other boy stated, clearly hiding something. “I don’t have a Suit, but I’ve still managed to stake my claim.”

“That seems like a loophole,” Joshua said.

Jonghyun laughed and shrugged. “Maybe,” he replied, refusing to volunteer any more information.

Joshua huffed,  beginning to grow frustrated with the lack of answers from the other boy. “So how do I get home?”

“You’ll have to ask one of the Kings. Er, the leaders of the Suits,” Jonghyun answered. “They’re the ones who know how the Decks work the best. They’ll probably know a way back to your world.”

“Wait, world?” Joshua asked. “I’m in a different world?”

“Different world? Who said that?” Jonghyun said, eyes widening.

“You just did!” Joshua spluttered.

Jonghyun shook his head. “Nah, you must be hearing things.” Joshua was about to argue, but was cut off. “Anyway. If you start heading this way,” he pointed in one direction through the forest, “you’ll end up in my friend’s territory. Ask to see Seungcheol. He’ll be your best bet. And they’ll definitely be interested since you haven’t claimed a Suit. They may try to recruit you, but just keep saying you need to get back home.”

Joshua frowned. “I feel like you’re not telling me something.”

“I’m not telling you a lot of things,” Jonghyun agreed. “But do you have any other ideas?”

Joshua made a face. “If I get killed, I’m going to find a way to haunt you.”

Jonghyun laughed. “That’s the spirit! You’ll do fine here.” He steered Joshua by the shoulders in the direction he’d been pointing. “It’s not too far a walk. Good luck, Joshua.”

Joshua startled as he realized something. “Hey, I never told you my name! How did you-?” When he spun around, Jonghyun wasn’t there. He felt a chill run down his spine. “All right, that’s normal,” he muttered, trying to convince himself he wasn’t losing it. He shook his head and turned back to the direction Jonghyun had pushed him in. “Just don’t think about it.”

 

* * *

 

 “Hey, you!” a voice cried. Joshua’s head shot up. He’d been walking for a couple hours (unable to keep track of the exact number without his phone to keep time for him) with only the birds in the trees for company, so the sudden noise was jarring. He froze in place.

“Uh, I come in peace?” he tried, eyes scanning the trees for whoever had called out. There was a thud behind him, and Joshua spun around to see two boys with leather jackets and very dangerous looking metal bats approaching him. ‘Oh god, I can’t die like this,’ Joshua thought, ‘I never finished my anime!’

“Who are you?” the shorter one on the right asked, shoving some strands of bleached hair out of his eyes. “Why are you in Clubs territory?”

Joshua gaped at him, glancing at the boy’s right hand on his bat. There was indeed a club marking on his hand with the letter ‘J’ in it. “I’m just trying to find someone,” he explained.

The boy’s eyes narrowed. “Right,” he said, drawing out the word. It was clear he didn’t believe Joshua. “You won’t mind if we search you then, right?”

Joshua shrugged. “I mean, I have nothing to hide. I don’t even have anything worth stealing.”

The boy looked at his companion, who shrugged. Joshua then noticed the taller one also had a club marking on his right hand, though his had an ‘A’. The boy who’d addressed Joshua walked up to him warily. “Don’t try anything, or Wonwoo will smash your head in.”

Joshua’s eyes darted to the other boy, Wonwoo apparently, nervously. “Um.” The first boy began to pat him down, and Joshua was briefly reminded of the one time he was searched going through airport security.

“He’s unarmed,” the boy finally grunted. Some of the tension seemed to leave his and Wonwoo’s shoulders. “Hey, wait.” The boy’s eyes narrowed, and he grabbed Joshua’s right wrist. “He’s Suitless.” Wonwoo’s eyebrows shot up, which was the closest he’d come to expressing an emotion so far.

“Look, I’m just trying to get home,” Joshua said, tugging his grip from the boy’s grasp. “Someone told me I could go this way and ask some guy named Seungcheol for help.”

The boy frowned. “Who was this person?”

Joshua frowned, feeling like he shouldn’t mention Jonghyun for some reason, like doing so would be a betrayal of trust. “Just the first person I met when I got here. He didn’t really explain much. He just pointed me in this direction.”

The two Clubs stared at each other, presumably having some intense silent conversation. “Okay,” the boy said. “We’ll have to take you to the King anyway since you’re Suitless.”

Joshua blinked. He hadn’t expected it to be that easy. “Wow, uh, thanks.” Wonwoo started off in the direction Joshua had initially been headed, and the other boy inclined his head, indicating that Joshua should follow. They set off at a fairly relaxed pace. “Do you think the King will know how to get me back home?” he asked.

“Probably,” the Club grunted. “Whether he’ll let you leave or not… that’s another story.” Joshua felt dread grow in his stomach.

 

* * *

 

When they finally reached the end of the trees, Joshua was immensely relieved. He’d been in the forest for far too long and it was nice to have a change of scenery. What he saw coming over a hill wasn’t at all what he’d been expecting of the Clubs territory. He stopped in front of the building, lit up in neon with flashing bulbs outlining the name.

“Clubs Casino?” Joshua asked the guard, whose name he learned was Vernon.

Vernon nodded. “Yeah. Most famous casino in the Decks.”

“Only casino in the Decks,” Wonwoo muttered. Joshua stared at him, this being the first occasion he’d heard the other boy speak. 

“Details,” Vernon said, waving away Wonwoo’s words. “Come on. The King should be in by now.” Joshua was marched through the casino’s wide doors with a guard on either side. The inside was just as loud and bright as Joshua thought a casino might be. Slot machines lined the wide room in the front with black jack and dice throwing tables toward the back.

“I just need to meet Seungcheol,” Joshua yelled over the racket of the casino. “Then I’ll be off your territory, I swear.”

“No can do,” Vernon said, shaking his head. “All Suitless citizens get taken to the King. It’s an order.” He and Wonwoo ushered Joshua through the casino to a set of stairs in the back, flashing their Club markings at a guard before hustling up the stairs and through a door. Joshua was grateful that the noise lessened drastically once the door closed.

He looked around at the new room, a lounge, full of expensive looking furniture and pieces of artwork on the walls. They made their way to a long bar on the back wall where a bartender stood polishing some glasses. He looked up when the three of them sat down. The first thing Joshua noticed was the club on the back of the bartender’s right hand had a ‘Q’ in it. The second thing he noticed was that the bartender was very attractive and very young like every other person he’d met since he’d woken up.

“Can I get you guys anything?” the bartender asked, smiling at them. “Soda? Water?” His eyes landed on Joshua. “Who’s this?”

“I’m Joshua,” he greeted the bartender. “I stumbled onto your territory accidentally I think.”

“And you guys brought him here?” the bartender asked with a frown. 

“He’s Suitless,” Vernon explained.

The bartender’s mouth formed an o. “I see.” His eyes met Joshua’s apologetically. “Sorry. We’ll try and make this as painless as possible. Oh, I’m Mingyu by the way.” He held out a hand that Joshua shook hesitantly. Mingyu gave him an encouraging grin. “I’ll go get S.Coups. It shouldn’t take long.” Mingyu went through a door next to the bar, presumably to find the King.

‘What kind of name is S.Coups?’ Joshua wondered.

“He’s right,” Vernon said, snapping Joshua out of his thoughts. At his baffled look, Vernon added, “This should go pretty quickly. He might try to recruit you.”

Joshua recalled Jonghyun’s words about recruitment. “Like make me a Club?”

“Yeah,” Vernon nodded. “You’d have to start as a 2, but I think you’d work your way through the Numbers quickly.” He grinned wryly. “You’d never take my spot as Jack though.”

“I’m guessing the ranks go Jack, Queen, then King,” Joshua offered.

“Yep,” Vernon confirmed. “The King’s right hand is called the Ace though.” He tilted his head toward Wonwoo.

Joshua thought back to the few facts Jonghyun had told him about this universe. “So, you guys are one of the major Suits?”

“We’re in charge of all the money mainly,” Vernon said proudly. “Our King is trying to make the Decks more successful by expanding trade with other regions too.” He made a face. “And we would have more trade if the Hearts didn’t block us at every turn.” Joshua got the feeling that there was a deeper sort of tension there from Vernon’s expression and the way Wonwoo tapped his bat against the floor anxiously. 

The tense atmosphere was thankfully broken when Mingyu emerged from the back, holding the door open for someone that Joshua couldn’t quite see from where he was sitting. Wonwoo and Vernon hastily got to their feet, and Joshua scrambled to do the same.

“Relax,” a voice said. Joshua watched a dark-haired boy shuffled out from the back room. “It’s just me. No need for formalities.” They all sat back down and Joshua got his first good look at the King of Clubs. He was dressed like a biker with sewn on patches covering his leather jacket and rips in his jeans. The King collapsed on a stool with a sigh. “Got any coffee?” he asked Mingyu.

“Of course,” Mingyu said, busying himself behind the counter. 

The King hummed in satisfaction. He turned to face Joshua, who squirmed under the searching look. “I hear you’ve been asking about me.”

Joshua waved his hand. “No, no, I was just told to look for a guy named Seuncheol.”

The King laughed. “Well, you’ve found him.” Joshua’s eyes widened. “Thanks,” the King, Seungcheol, muttered as a cup of coffee was set in front of him.

“I thought your name was S.Coups!” Joshua blurted without thinking. How could Jonghyun not have mentioned that Seungcheol was the King?

Seungcheol snorted. “Nah, that’s just a name I give the public. It’s dangerous for a King to give out their real name.” He narrowed his eyes at Joshua. “Which is why I’m very interested in knowing how a Suitless newcomer knows it when I usually only give it to my closest friends.”

Joshua gulped, shifting in his seat. “I just woke up in the forest. The man who found me there said that he had a friend that lived here named Seungcheol that could help me. He also said that one of the Kings might know how to get me back to my world.”

“Your world?” Mingyu asked. Joshua startled, having forgotten the other boy was behind the counter.

“Well, he said something about ‘getting back to my world’, which made me think this was a different one,” Joshua replied.

“It probably is,” Mingyu said. “The Decks is a common stopping place for universe jumpers, though you don’t look like the normal kind.”

“I just woke up here!” Joshua said. “It’s not like I meant to come here.”

“That’s odd,” Vernon mused. “You might have stumbled through a rift in your world accidentally. It’s not common, but it’s happened before.”

“I’m more concerned about the guy who knew the King’s name,” Wonwoo muttered.

“Do you remember anything about him? Could you see his mark?” Seungcheol asked before taking a sip of his drink.

Joshua didn’t know how much would be safe to give away. “Uh, he had a J on his hand, but no Suit.” The atmosphere shifted to something more tense.

“Wild Card,” Wonwoo said darkly.

“Damn,” Vernon muttered, suddenly looking very serious. Seungcheol appeared lost in thought with his brow furrowed and a deep frown on his face. “Why would he tell a Suitless new arrival to come here?” Wonwoo shrugged.

“I need to think,” Seungcheol said, getting up from his stool abruptly and throwing back the rest of the coffee in one gulp. He slammed the cup back down on the counter and strode through the door in the back, the door swinging shut loudly behind him.

“Did I say something wrong?” Joshua asked, bewildered by the King’s behavior. 

“No,” Mingyu sighed, picking up Seungcheol’s abandoned cup to wash it. “It’s just about the man you met. He’s what we call a ‘Wild Card’.”

“Is that a bad thing?” Joshua asked.

“In a way,” Mingyu replied, tilting his head. He glanced toward the door, as if making sure Seungcheol wouldn’t hear, and lowered his voice. “A while ago there were four Suits. Hearts, Diamonds, Clubs and Spades. We all had territories that balanced each other out. One day the Spades just fell without any warning. No one could find a single member of the Spades.” Joshua’s eyes widened.

“The Wild Card showed up right afterward,” Vernon chimed in. “A couple of Clubs Numbers saw him hanging around what used to be Spades territory. They said he was muttering that it was his fault the Spades collapsed.”

“Seungcheol was always close with the King of Spades,” Mingyu said. “He’s been looking for the Spades ever since and hoping to get revenge on the Wild Card. That being said, we’ve never managed to catch him or even see him.”

“It’s worrying to hear that the Wild Card knows S.Coups’ real name,” Wonwoo said. The boy looked toward the door the King had left through. “He’s probably thinking the Wild Card will target us next.”

“Please, if you can tell us anything about him, we’d appreciate it,” Mingyu said.

Joshua frowned, trying to recall what he knew about Jonghyun, but aside from his name it wasn’t much. Despite what the Clubs were telling him, he just couldn’t see Jonghyun as the kind of guy with the power or motivation to bring down the equivalent of a kingdom singlehandedly. He shook his head. “All he did was confuse me and say I needed to talk to a King in order to get home.”

Mingyu sighed. “Well, at least we can be prepared in case he tries anything.”

“Let him try,” Vernon scoffed. Mingyu rolled his eyes fondly.

“But was he telling the truth when he said Seungcheol might know how I could get home?” Joshua pressed.

Mingyu and Wonwoo exchanged a glance. “Probably,” Mingyu said hesitantly. “But it’s getting late now. You can ask him in the morning. He’ll probably be stuck on the Wild Card situation all night.”

Joshua sighed. “I guess. Would you guys know any places I could stay around here?”

“There’s an extra bed in my room,” Vernon offered. “You can crash there if you want.”

“Really? I’d appreciate it,” Joshua said, feeling relieved that he wouldn’t be forced to sleep in the creepy forest.

“Alright, now that that’s settled,” Mingyu began, “I’ll see all of you tomorrow morning. Don’t worry, I’ll make sure to ask S.Coups about your problem.” He left out the back door.

“Night,” Wonwoo said with a nod in both Vernon and Joshua’s direction, following Mingyu to the back.

“Come on, my room’s this way,” Vernon said, motioning toward a door on the other side of the bar. Joshua followed the Jack through a series of hallways until they came to a stop in front of a non-descript door at the end of the hall. The door had a wooden carving of a club with a J on it nailed to the door. Vernon unlocked his room quickly and held the door open for Joshua.

Once the lights flipped on, Joshua could see the room was fairly nice, with the size and furnishings of a one room apartment. “Sorry,” Vernon said sheepishly, clearing away some clothes and food wrappers from the floor. “I don’t usually have guests. Joshua stood awkwardly in the middle of the area that had a couple of chairs around a television set.

“The beds are over here,” Vernon said, emerging from one of the two doors in the back. Joshua quickly crossed the living room area to peer into the bedroom. There were two beds inside, one clearly having been slept in recently and one stripped bare. Vernon moved to a closet in one corner of the bedroom and pulled down some blankets and pillows for Joshua.

“Thanks,” Joshua said, taking the linens. 

Vernon nodded. “No problem. The other door over there is the bathroom. I need to go talk with the King real fast, but I’ll be right back.” He exited the apartment soon after, leaving Joshua alone to set up his bedding. 

Joshua pulled all the sheets on the mattress quickly and flopped back on the bed once he was done. He closed his eyes feeling exhausted. This was nothing like what all his animes made waking up in a fantasy world seem like. He was tired, a little hungry, and a lot homesick. He missed his parents and his friends and he wished he’d never decided to go to the audition in the first place… Wait, what?

He suddenly sat up straight in his bed. An audition? Had that been what he was going to before he woke up in the Decks? He remembered getting dropped off a few streets over from his destination and he was walking and… And… Joshua flopped back, smashed a pillow to his face and screamed into it in frustration. His memory slipped away more and more the harder he tried to remember, and wasn’t that just the cherry on top of this weird day? As he drifted off into an uneasy sleep that night, he dreamed of hands shuffling a deck of cards together.

 


	2. Joshua Gets Some Club Advice

“Hey, wake up,” a voice was saying. Joshua groaned. He managed to crack an eye open to see Vernon hovering over him. “Come on,” Vernon said. “You have to meet the King for breakfast, remember?” Joshua was suddenly very awake. He sat up quickly, almost slamming his head into Vernon’s in the process. He got ready rapidly (which mostly just consisted of him making his bed and straightening out his wrinkled clothing as best he could).

He followed Vernon to what looked like a cafeteria with Clubs Casino staff milling around, talking, and eating. “We don’t open until late afternoon, so mornings are pretty slow around here,” Vernon explained as they got in line for food. Joshua noticed how Vernon’s position affected the rest of the Clubs members’ behavior as a number of employees bowed slightly as Vernon passed them.

“Are all the Suits’ territories like this?” Joshua wondered aloud once they had their trays of food.

Vernon frowned. “The Diamonds are more relaxed and the Hearts are flashier,” he finally said. Joshua wondered what the other territories looked like. Vernon nudged him toward a table in the back that all the other Clubs seemed to be avoiding. Once they got closer, Joshua could see that Wonwoo and Mingyu were already at the table. 

“Joshua!” Mingyu exclaimed, waving. He slid into the seat next to him. “Did you sleep well?”

“Yes,” Joshua replied. “Probably the best I’ve gotten in a while.”

“I’m sure you were exhausted,” Mingyu said sympathetically. “S.Coups should be down any minute now.” Mingyu had barely finished his statement when the cafeteria suddenly fell silent. Joshua turned to the entrance and watched as a door swung open and Seungcheol walked in confidently. All the Clubs stood at attention as he strode through the cafeteria. With a nod from the King, they all sat back down and resumed their conversations.

Seungcheol slid onto the bench right next to Mingyu a few moments later with his own food. He greeted all of them before his eyes landed on Joshua. “I’m sorry for leaving so suddenly last night.” He let out a breath. “A lot has been happening around the Decks lately.”

“So I’ve heard,” Joshua replied. “I’m sorry I couldn’t help more with your problems.”

Seungcheol waved him off as he took a bite of his breakfast sandwich. “It’s not your fault. You’re new here. Speaking of which.” He gulped some orange juice. “I was thinking about your problem last night, and I have an idea how to get you home.”

“Really?” Joshua asked, sitting up straighter on the bench.

The King nodded. “It’ll be hard though.” He frowned contemplatively. “In the center of the Decks is an artifact called the Carat.”

“It’s this huge gem,” Vernon whispered to Joshua, using his arms to illustrate something about the size of the table they were eating at.

“It has enough power to open paths through dimensions,” Seungcheol continued. “Now I have to warn you that it’s only been used to open rifts a handful of times. Usually universe jumpers have their own means for traversing dimensions and they don’t require our aid, which is very lucky for us.”

“It takes an agreement between all the Suits to use it to open a rift,” Mingyu explained. “It hasn’t been activated since…” he trailed off, but Joshua got the idea. He imagined the last time it had been used had been before the Spades had disappeared.

“I’m not sure if the three remaining Kings will be enough to power it, but it’s the only idea I have,” Seungcheol said. “I haven’t heard of anything else capable of getting you home. I’m sorry.”

“It’s more of a plan than what I had,” Joshua assured him with a grin. “But would the other Kings agree to help?”

Seungcheol grimaced. “That’s the other problem. The Diamonds shouldn’t be too hard to convince, but the Hearts… well, we’re not on the best terms.”

“Oh,” Joshua muttered, looking down at his breakfast, though he no longer had much of an appetite. He should’ve known it wouldn’t be that easy to get home.

“That’s not to say you can’t try,” Seungcheol said, making Joshua look up. “I’m sure the Hearts would go with it if they met you.” He gave Joshua a wry grin. “And if you can’t convince them, you’re always welcome to stay here and become a Club.”

Joshua shook his head. “So, would I have to go to their territory and convince them?”

“That would be your best shot,” Seungcheol said with a shrug. “Actually, you should get the Diamonds on your side before going to the Hearts. That’ll help your case a lot. The King of Diamonds is good friends with the Hearts’ Jack and Ace, and the Queen of Hearts dotes on the Jack of Diamonds.”

“Can any of you come with me?” he asked. The Clubs exchanged nervous glances. “I mean, I don’t even know where I’m going.”

“We’ll give you a map,” Mingyu assured him. “But it’s just not a good idea for the heads of Suits to go into another Suit’s territory without prior warning. We’ll try and help out as much as we can though from where we are.”

“I’m friends with the Jack of Hearts,” Vernon said, patting Joshua on the back. “And Coups knows the King of Diamonds pretty well.” He frowned. “I mean, I think he does.” Joshua didn’t find that very reassuring, but resigned himself to a long journey to Diamond territory.

 

* * *

 

True to his word, Mingyu handed Joshua a map and backpack that afternoon, pointing out landmarks and the direction he would be heading. “Turn right at the big willow tree,” he told Joshua. “You’ll know it when you see it. If you hit a river, you’ve gone too far. The city is about half an hour from the tree.”

Joshua nodded and made some notes on the corner of the map. “Okay.”

“You should be able to make it with plenty of time before nightfall,” Mingyu said. “The Diamonds’ territory is a resort, so don’t worry about finding a place to stay. There’s enough money in your bag for a few nights if they do end up charging you. The King’s name is Hoshi, and he should want to see you anyway since you’re Suitless.”

Joshua sighed and looked down the dirt path he’d be following to Diamond territory. “Thanks for everything,” he told Mingyu. “I’m just worried that I’ll fail to convince him.”

Mingyu offered him a grin. “Well, like the King said, we’d be happy to have you as a Club in that case.”

Vernon and Wonwoo showed up to watch him go. “I shoved a lot of snacks in your bag, so you should be fine,” Vernon said proudly. Joshua laughed, grateful that the group had turned out to be kind despite their rough first impression.

“Here,” Wonwoo said, offering Joshua a baseball bat. “For protection.” Joshua turned the metal bat in his hands, noticing a small club engraved on the base of it.

“Thank you,” Joshua replied, deciding not to mention that the last time he held a bat was when he played T-ball in third grade. It at least made Wonwoo look pleased. Vernon relayed that Seungcheol was sorry he couldn’t see Joshua off, but he’d hopefully see him soon should Joshua convince the Hearts and Diamonds to meet up. He echoed Mingyu’s earlier invitation to join the Clubs should Joshua ever want to. Joshua got the feeling that the other Suits would be even more forceful than the Clubs in attempting to recruit him.

“Well,” Joshua muttered once the Clubs Casino was out of sight. He stuck his baseball bat in his bag, hoping he wouldn’t need it in the near future. “It can’t get any weirder.” 

 

* * *

 

The dirt path they had set him on was long and wound past the forest he’d initially woken up in. Within a few hours of following Mingyu’s map, the dirt path ran into the edge of what appeared to be a small city. Stores lined the sides of a paved road, a far cry from the wide-open scenery Joshua had been traveling through. A few people would give him a second glance, but for the most part none of the city’s inhabitants seemed to notice him.

He wandered around the city for a while as it got later in the afternoon, at one point stopping at a café for a late lunch, but eventually found himself going in circles. He’d been up and down through the maze of streets and shops, and he still couldn’t figure out where the Diamonds’ territory was. He eventually made his way into a circular area set up like a market place with a number of roads branching off like the spokes of a wheel. 

Though it was interesting to look through all the food, which apparently wasn’t much different from the food in Joshua’s world, he was still hopelessly lost. The sheer number of paths he could take from the market place was overwhelming. After an hour or so, Joshua finally decided that he wasn’t getting anywhere looking around like a tourist. He took a breath and walked up to a man lingering by a stall selling a variety of fruits.

“Excuse me,” he began, getting the man’s attention, “Can you point me in the direction of the Diamonds’ resort?”

The man raised an eyebrow. “Are you from out of town?”

Joshua nodded. “I’m,” he paused, wondering if telling the man he was Suitless was a good idea, “The Clubs recommended the resort as a place to stay.”

“Ah,” the man nodded in comprehension. “Take the street over there,” he pointed to one on the other side of the market, “for about five blocks, turn right, and you should see it immediately.” 

Josh nodded, mentally chanting the instructions in his head. “Thank you.” He set off down the street the man had indicated, speeding up as the sky began to grow darker. Though the city seemed fairly safe, Joshua still didn’t want to be stuck outside once night fell.

True to the man’s directions, Joshua immediately spotted the resort as he rounded the corner. A bright neon billboard illuminated the rapidly darkening area with the words ‘Shining Diamond’ and a smaller ‘Vacancy’ lit up under it. He set off toward the building, wondering if the Diamonds were much different from the Clubs.

The Clubs hadn’t indicated much tension with the Diamonds that Joshua had heard, then again Joshua’s first encounter with the Clubs had involved being marched to their leader and threatened with baseball bats, so he wasn’t quite sure what to expect as he passed under the wide arch in front of the resort.

The Shining Diamond was extravagant, and Joshua wondered how much money Mingyu had given him and if he would truly be able to afford multiple nights in such a resort. He walked around a fountain stationed in front of the drop off area and pushed open one of the excessively tall wooden doors. The inside lobby was just as opulently furnished, with chandeliers dripping crystals and a number of beautiful couches and chairs. Joshua absently wondered if they’d charge him for tracking outside dirt on the diamond patterned carpet.

He hesitantly approached the counter at the back of the lobby where a bored looking boy sat clicking away at a computer. The boy looked up with disinterest as Joshua got closer. “Just you?” he asked, not stopping whatever he was doing on the computer.

“Yes,” Joshua said, fidgeting. He glanced down at the boy’s right hand on the mouse. The mark was a red diamond with a J in the middle of it.

“Name?” the boy asked. As he leaned back to open something on his computer, Joshua got a glimpse of a shiny nametag pinned to the boy's chest that read ‘Dino’.

“Joshua.”

“How many nights do you plan on staying?”

“Well, I’m not really sure,” Joshua admitted.

The boy met his eyes again, looking a little irritated. “You’re not sure?” he asked incredulously.

“I’m actually here to try and meet the King,” he said, wincing.

Dino frowned, eyes narrowing, as he finally directed all of his attention to Joshua. Said boy felt like squirming under the gaze, and Joshua reached up to brush some strands of hair out of his face nervously. The other boy’s eyes locked on Joshua’s right hand, and he stood up quickly and grabbed a radio from where it was clipped to his belt.

“The8? I got someone you need to take to the King,” Dino said quickly. “Yeah, it’s important.” The boy’s eyes darted to Joshua. “He’s Suitless. Yeah. Just take him to his room for now, and we can tell the King after his show. Hurry.” He clipped the radio back to his belt and turned to examine the wall of keys hanging on hooks behind him. “Take this room,” he said, grabbing a key and handing it over to Joshua. “I called someone to help you get there.”

 “I’m here.” Joshua jumped at the sound of the other’s voice and turned to see a boy with messy brown hair and a bright red uniform on his right. The new arrival gave him a smug grin, as if satisfied by catching Joshua off guard. Joshua guessed that this was ‘The8’, and a glance at the other’s nametag confirmed that.

“Uh, thanks,” Joshua said, feeling unnerved as The8 gave him a once over.

“Do you have any bags?” The8 asked.

Joshua shook his head. “Just my backpack.”

The8 nodded. “Alright. Follow me.” He set out without any hesitation. Joshua muttered a quick thanks to Dino before following The8 through a long hallway to a set of elevators. The8 pressed a button for the seventeenth floor, just one below the penthouse suite, and Joshua managed to see the red diamond on the back of The8’s hand with an A in the middle. He also noted with amusement that all the buttons were in the shape of diamonds that matched the diamond tiled interior of the elevator. He reasoned that either the Diamonds took their Suit very seriously, or they were just being over the top for their own amusement.

The ride was spent in silence, and Joshua was grateful when the elevator doors finally slid open with a ding. The8 led him to a door at the end of the hall and unlocked it quickly. The interior of the room was just as lavishly furnished as Joshua had expected given the rest of the resort. He would’ve never been able to afford such a place back in his world.

“There’s a kitchen in there,” The8 said, getting Joshua’s attention. He looked into the room The8 was pointing at and saw a stove and microwave next to a sink and a few empty cupboards. “Bathroom is back through that door and the bedroom is through the other one.” The8 led him through a large living area and opened a door in the back that went outside. Joshua stepped up to the patio's railing and glanced over the resort, impressed. He immediately noticed an expansive pool with a number of waterslides and even a bar that one could swim up to. “This is the patio. You have a good view of the pool and-“ Whatever the boy had been about to say was cut off when all the lights around the pool suddenly shut off.

“May I have your attention!” an amplified voice boomed from down below.

Joshua watched as The8 took a deep breath and looked close to flinging himself over the railing of the patio. “Why is he like this?” the boy muttered, low enough that Joshua had barely been able to hear it. He glanced back at the pool where a spotlight had switched on to illuminate a platform on top of the pool’s tiny bar.

“Why is who like this?” Joshua asked, confused. The8 just made a wounded groaning sound.

“Ladies and gentlemen!” the voice came again. Joshua watched as someone, too far away to make out any features from where Joshua was standing, appeared suddenly in the spotlight as if by magic. “What time is it now?!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, what the heck is Cardverse?
> 
> Well, there have been a number of interpretations in other fanbases as to how they see Cardverse, but I decided not to strictly adhere to any other established versions. All there really is to know about it in my story is that there is one large region (the Decks) that three Suits (Clubs, Hearts, and Diamonds) rule over. The Suits occasionally fight with each other over territory, but they're at an uneasy truce when Joshua shows up. The Spades have fallen not too long ago, and the Suits are very nervous at the appearance of the Wild Card. The hierarchy works much the same way as one would play a game of war with cards, though Aces are still under the King. That's about all you need to know. Thanks for reading!


	3. Joshua Discovers The Diamond Standard

“Uh,” Joshua stated eloquently, eyebrows raised, as he watched the scene unfolding below. The8 had his head buried in his hands, occasionally muttering something that Joshua couldn’t quite understand, possibly in another language. The man on the pool bar roof continued his performance, egged on by the few people still hanging around the pool area. “Is he part of a show?” Joshua asked.

“You could say that,” The8 muttered. “Since he turns everything into a goddamn drama.”

“What?” Joshua was incredibly confused at this point.

The8 sighed heavily, evidently taking pity on Joshua. “That’s our King.”

Joshua’s eyes widened, and he looked back down at the pool, where the King was apparently breakdancing. Objectively it was a very impressive performance, but Joshua had definitely not expected that. He’d expected the leader of the Diamonds to be more like Seungcheol, in charge and inspiring both fear and respect among his subjects. The Diamonds King was very different from that concept if this performance was anything to go by.

“You can meet him after his show,” The8 said, heading back toward the door to the room, motioning for Joshua to follow. He slid the glass door behind them and locked it. “It usually only lasts about twenty minutes.”

Joshua blinked. “Does he do this every night?”

“Every night possible,” The8 replied, looking resigned. “He says it’s good for the people in his territory to see him regularly.” The boy tilted his head. “He stays after most of his shows to listen to anyone who has complaints too.”

“Wow, really?” Joshua asked.

The8 nodded. “He’s very involved with the people. He’s actually not in the resort most of the time because he likes to go around the city talking with people.”

“Oh,” Joshua replied, not sure how to react. Now that he thought about it, that was pretty responsible of the King. He didn’t lead like Seungcheol, but he still clearly cared about his territory and his subjects. Maybe Joshua would be able to convince the King to help him out after all. He started planning out his argument in his head when a thought struck him. “Uh, what’s the King’s name?”

The8 raised an eyebrow. “As far as your concerned, his name is Hoshi.”

Joshua frowned. “Hoshi? Is that a fake name?” He recalled Seungcheol saying how it was dangerous for Kings to give out their names, though it seemed like some of the other inhabitants of the Decks had substitute names as well. He highly doubted that the boy in front of him had actually been named The8 by his parents.

“Of course it is,” The8 snorted. “Kings don’t give out their names that easily. That could be catastrophic.”

“What? How?” He grew more concerned from The8’s tone. He’d thought the purpose of the fake names was more about protecting the King’s personal identity, but the other boy was making it sound like a matter of life or death.

“Names have power,” The8 said with a shrug. “Literally. Or at least, that was how it used to be.”

The answer left Joshua even more confused, but before he could inquire further the walkie talkie on The8’s belt squawked. “The8!” Joshua recognized Dino’s voice, distorted though it was, coming from the device. The8 grabbed the walkie talkie from his belt and held it up to his ear. “The King wants to see the newcomer. Take him down to the lounge, over.”

“Got it, over,” The8 replied, clipping the radio back to his belt. “Follow me.” He looked at Joshua expectantly, and Joshua trailed him back out of the suite to the elevator. The8 inserted a key card into a slot on the elevator and hit the button for the basement floor. They descended slowly and in silence once again. 

When the elevator doors slid open, Joshua was greeted by a dark lounge area lit by neon lights lining the walls in shades of electric blues and greens. There were blue couches surrounding low tables scattered around the front of the room, and the back half was taken up by a massive dance floor.

As he and The8 began moving toward the back, he could see the DJ station in the back was impressively equipped with a variety of speakers, soundboards, records and launchpads. He glanced up to see a jumble of wires and lights above the dance floor. Joshua was sure the dance floor was very impressive if an event was in full swing, if the strobe lights and fog machines were anything to go by.

He was finally led to a circular booth in a back corner. Dino was already waiting for the two of them there, periodically checking a tablet in his hands. He looked up as they approached, nodding at them. The8 slid in the booth wordlessly and Joshua followed suit.

“Did you settle in alright?” Dino asked, tapping a few things onto his tablet.

Joshua thought of his one bag that he’d dropped on the suite’s overly luxurious bed. “Yeah. Didn’t have to do much.”

Dino set the tablet down. “Well, the others should be here soon.” Joshua assumed the boy was referring to the rest of the Diamonds court, meaning the King that he’d only seen from seventeen floors up and the Queen he had yet to meet. He wondered if this kind of interrogation was something all the Suits had in common. Given what he’d been through in Clubs territory, he was leaning toward yes.

“Hey!” a voice called out. Joshua looked up to see a boy striding across the floor toward them. He was wearing an expensive looking suit, but it was messed up like he’d run all the way there. The boy grinned widely at Joshua and slid into the booth next to him, effectively trapping Joshua between himself and The8. “You must be the Suitless guest Dino was talking about!” he bowed as best he could in his seat, which Joshua tried to return. “I’m Jun!”

“Joshua,” he replied, grinning despite himself and finding the other boy’s enthusiasm contagious.

“Ah, I can already see you’d make a great Diamond,” Jun said. He squinted at Joshua. “Can you dance?”

Joshua blinked, surprised by the sudden change in topic. “Uh, not that well.”

Jun shook his head, but was still smiling. “Ah well, don’t worry about it! We can teach you. Every Diamond dances at least a little.”

“He hasn’t even decided to be a Diamond,” The8 said, finally adding his voice to the conversation.

“Yeah, slow down,” Dino said, grinning at Jun’s pout. “We have to give him the full sales pitch first.”

Jun perked up. “Like the one with the slideshow?” He paled. “I forgot to get the slideshow!” He moved to jump up when The8 reached across Joshua to hold Jun in place.

“No the other sales pitch,” The8 said, hand still on Jun’s shoulder.

Jun made a face. “But we haven’t perfected our interpretive dance routine for that yet!”

“Um.” Joshua cleared his throat and The8’s hand retracted. The Diamonds were all enthusiastic, but they also seemed like a handful. Next to the Clubs they were practically bouncing off the walls, and even their hierarchy didn’t seem to affect how they treated each other.

“Hoshi should be here in a few minutes,” Dino said suddenly, scrolling through something on his tablet. “Also, apparently one of the citizens complained about the abandoned hotel. Apparently, some raccoons got into it and they’re making a racket at night.”

“I’ll send someone over to catch and release them somewhere else in the morning,” Jun said, pulling out his phone and making a note.

Dino met Joshua’s eyes then. “You said you had to talk with the King about something?”

“Yeah,” Joshua confirmed, nodding. “It’s really important. The Clubs said I would need your help.”

All of the Diamonds looked shocked at that, Dino’s eyebrows shooting up to his hairline, The8’s brow furrowing in confusion, and Jun’s jaw outright dropping. “They actually recommended us?” Jun asked, looking nonplussed.

“Is that odd?” Joshua asked.

The8’s expression quickly smoothed out. “No, it’s just… Sometimes we get overshadowed by the other Suits.”

“It’s not their fault,” Jun added quickly. “We don’t blame them at all. If anything, the other Suits are the ones that appreciate us the most. It’s just…” he trailed off, looking a bit unsure.

“Hey, I get it,” Joshua said. And he did. He’d had plenty of times in his life where he felt overshadowed, wondering what he needed to do to make people notice him. In the Decks it was almost the opposite with everyone he met clamoring to get a Suitless newcomer to join them, but he couldn’t forget the loneliness he felt before he'd arrived in the new world. 

Jun smiled at him gratefully. “Anyway, Hoshi knows a lot, and he should be able to help you.”

The8 agreed with the other boy. “He’s over the top a lot of the time, but when it comes to serious matters he doesn’t mess around. It’s why he knows everything that’s happening everywhere. Even in other Suits’ territories.”

“Really?” Joshua asked. The8 nodded.

“Agh, you’re making me sound creepy!” Joshua’s head jerked around at the appearance of another voice. His eyes scanned the dance floor until they landed on a man strolling up to the booth with a wide grin on his face. The man was wearing a black tank top and red shorts with black sneakers. He had a black hat with a red diamond stitched on the front over his hair, which was dyed a shocking shade of orange. He was also still very sweaty looking, and Joshua assumed he’d come to the lounge right after his performance.

“Here,” Dino said, producing a towel seemingly out of thin air and tossing it to the new arrival. “You’re gross.”

“No respect from the kids these days,” the man sighed, though he was smiling, toweling off the sweat as best he could. He then looked at Joshua. “Hey, you’re Joshua, right?”

“Yeah,” Joshua replied. “Nice to meet you.”

The man grinned so widely that could give Jun a run for his money. “Likewise! I’m Hoshi. I’m going to assume they’ve already said a few things about me.” His eyes slid to The8 suspiciously. “All good things, I hope?”

“Only compliments,” Joshua said, deciding to stay on The8’s good side.

Hoshi snorted. “I’m sure.” He slid in the booth next to Dino, who scooted away from him, nose wrinkling.

“You’re still sweaty,” Dino said, frowning.

Hoshi shrugged apologetically. “You said it was an emergency.”

“You could’ve at least rinsed off in a shower first,” the Jack of Diamonds replied.

“When you said ‘emergency’ I thought there was a fire or something!” Hoshi exclaimed, throwing up his hands. “How was I supposed to know that meant a new arrival?” He turned to Joshua. “Sorry, I definitely would have showered first if I’d known it was this kind of meeting.”

“It’s fine?” Joshua said, though it came out more as a question.

Hoshi sighed. “Now that I’ve ruined your first impression of me, was there something you needed help with?”

“Yeah, how’d you know?” Joshua asked, surprised.

“I got a message from S.Coups earlier this morning,” Hoshi replied. “Though I thought you’d be here earlier. When it got too late, I assumed you’d arrive tomorrow morning.”

Joshua grimaced. “I got lost on my way here. I had to ask for directions.”

“I don’t blame you,” Hoshi said, laughing. “It’s a big city. So, what can I do for you? S.Coups' message was pretty vague.”

He didn’t see any point in beating around the bush, so he jumped right in. “I need to get back to my world. I arrived here just last night and I want to go home. S.Coups said I’d need to use the Carat to get home.”

Hoshi sucked in a breath, and Joshua could see the rest of the people around the table having similar reactions. “Well,” the King muttered, stunned. “That’s, uh…”

“What he’s trying to say is that we haven’t used the Carat in a long time,” Dino said, looking at the King with concern. Jun rubbed Hoshi’s back comfortingly. “We needed all four Kings to operate it before.”

Joshua sighed. “That’s what S.Coups’ said. He still thought it was worth a shot though.”

Hoshi frowned and gave Joshua an apologetic look. “I want to help you, really I do, but I’m not sure if there’s enough power between the three remaining Kings.” He tilted his head, suddenly very serious. “Do you know the history of the Decks?”

Joshua blinked, “Um. No?”

“A long time ago,” Hoshi began, “the Decks were full of magical power. I won’t flatter us by saying all the Suits lived peacefully with each other, but it was balanced. At that time, everything about the Suits had power, even names.” He raised his eyebrows meaningfully. “Back then, no one actually used their real name, less they give another power over them. However, that changed when we found the Carat.”

“It was like a void in the world of magic,” Jun cut in. “Everyone could sense there was something wrong about it.”

“The courts of all the Suits convened to discuss it,” Hoshi said, nodding. “After debating the matter, we decided to try and use magic to figure out just what it was. We poured our magic into it, and it surprised us by opening a doorway somewhere else. To alternate universes.”

“From that point onward, the doors stayed open,” Dino said. “You’re not the first one to jump here from some parallel world.”

“We probably get two or three a year,” The8 added. The table went quiet as all of the Diamonds seemed to be recalling the events that had happened since the discovery of the artifact.

“Something went wrong though,” Joshua said slowly, picking up on the sinking mood.

Jun nodded. “Very wrong. It turns out that all the magic we’d sent into the gem would never come back to the world. By then we’d already used the gem far too many times when we experimented with sending things to other worlds.”

“We lost a lot of magic,” Hoshi agreed, tracing his finger over the diamond patterns on the table top. “Today only the Kings have any real magic power, which is the reason we still have to hide our names. Everyone else though…” He expression dropped. “I feel guilty that we rushed into the decision so quickly without a thought for the consequences.”

“You didn’t know,” Joshua said gently. He found himself feeling bad for the King. From what he’d seen of the Decks so far it seemed like the inhabitants had gotten used to the world without magic like the King was describing, but it didn’t seem to ease the other boy’s guilt.

Hoshi sighed, not meeting Joshua’s eyes. “You’re right, but that doesn’t change what happened.”

“So that’s why we needed all four Kings to power the gem,” Dino said, picking up the story. “However, the magic is even weaker now that the Spades are gone.” The rest of the Diamonds winced at that.

“The disappearance of the Spades was hard on all of us, especially the Clubs,” Hoshi told Joshua. “S.Coups was a mess for weeks. We’ve heard rumors that people have seen Spades members, but it’s all speculation and maybe a little wishful thinking. That aside, it left our magic that much weaker as well. We’re doing fine for now, but I’m not sure we have enough left to open the gateway to your world.”

“Even if we did manage it, there probably wouldn’t be any left afterwards,” The8 added. 

Jun nodded. “And you’d have to convince the Hearts, which is an uphill battle at best.”

Joshua let out a long breath. “I had no idea opening the gateway would require so much of all of you. I wouldn’t have asked if I’d known.”

Hoshi offered Joshua a grin. “Don’t worry about it. It’s understandable that you want to go back to your own home.” His brow furrowed contemplatively. “I’ll reach out to some of my sources in other regions and see if they know anything more about opening gateways to parallel universes.”

“Other regions?” Joshua asked. Now that he thought about it, it made sense that other areas existed like this one, though it seemed odd since the Decks appeared very isolated.

“Of course,” Hoshi laughed. “There are plenty of places outside the Decks! We have to trade for outside resources after all.” He glanced at a diamond shaped clock on the wall behind the booth. “It’s getting late anyway. Why don’t you get some sleep and we’ll regroup in the morning to try and plan something out?”

As soon as Hoshi suggested it, Joshua felt the day’s travel catching up with him. Had he really only left the Clubs’ territory that morning? “Sounds like a plan,” Joshua said, stifling a yawn.

“Great!” Hoshi beamed, suddenly back to the bright cheerful personality Joshua had seen from afar during the King’s performance. 

“Do you know the way back to your room? I can have The8 take you if you don’t,” Dino said. The8 narrowed his eyes at the Jack.

“No, I’ve got it,” Joshua muttered, sliding out of the booth and standing up to stretch. “Thank you though.”

“No problem,” the Jack replied, waving a hand. 

“Good night,” Hoshi said cheerfully, the rest of the Diamonds echoing him.

“Night!” Joshua said, already starting toward the elevators. He could hear them whispering as he made it to the dance floor, but he was too tired to try and listen in. When he reached the elevators and hit the button for the 17th floor, he leaned back against the cool wood interior of the elevator and closed his eyes.

He was startled when the doors dinged and slid open on his floor, and he shuffled tiredly to his room. Joshua inserted his key card quickly, and was grateful to see the large fluffy bed waiting for him. He flopped onto it after removing his shoes (it wasn’t like he had any pajamas anyway) and instantly fell asleep on top of the sheets. He dreamed.

 

* * *

 

_He was back in that place with the hands shuffling cards in front of him. Joshua tried to keep track of a card, but it was swept away too fast for him to follow. The shuffling suddenly stopped. A hand moved to flip over the card on top of the deck. Joshua waited with an odd feeling of anticipation swooping in his stomach, eager to see what would be turned over next..._

 

* * *

 

When Joshua woke up, he couldn’t remember any of his dream.


	4. Joshua Slip 'N Slides Into The Diamond Life

Joshua woke up with light spilling through the huge glass windows in his suite. There was a brief moment of panic as he worked out where he was, the red diamond pattern of his bedspread unfamiliar. The events of the previous night caught up with him, and he suddenly felt like lying back down for a while. He rubbed his eyes, wondering why fate had decided him to drop him in such an odd realm.

Eventually, he couldn’t stand lying around in bed anymore, and he flung off the covers to get the day started. He opened the suite’s closet door to find a stack of fluffy white towels. Grabbing one, he took a quick shower and changed back into his clothes, mentally writing a note to try and find some new outfits or at least a laundry area since his clothes were starting to look dirty and hopelessly wrinkled. 

At a loss for what to do, he decided to head down and see if any of the Diamond members from yesterday were hanging around. Maybe they had more suggestions for what he could do about the magic situation. Mind made up, he grabbed his key card and headed out of his room toward the elevators, pressing the button for the lobby.

The doors slid open on the ground floor, and Joshua scanned the lobby hesitantly. It was fairly empty, only a few guests with suitcases milling about, but he couldn’t see any of the Diamonds from earlier. Not even the Jack who was at the front desk the previous night was there now. He guessed it made sense for the higher ranking Diamonds to be busy during the day.

“Joshua!” a voice called. Joshua spun around, nearly doing a full turn, until he saw Jun waving at him from the resort’s mini-restaurant branching off from the lobby. The Queen beckoned him over until Joshua was standing at the restaurant’s entrance. “Hey, you were looking a little lost.” Jun gave him the megawatt grin Joshua remembered from last night.

Joshua laughed. “Yeah, I wasn’t really sure what to do with myself. I know Hoshi said he had to check with others about my situation, and I don’t want to rush him. You guys are already doing more than enough favors for me. I don’t even want to know how much my room costs.”

Jun laughed and patted Joshua on the shoulder. “Don’t worry about it!” the boy assured him. “It’s pretty slow this time of year anyway.” He gestured around to the restaurant, which was nearly empty. “Why don’t you sit down and look at the menu? Everything’s on the house.”

Despite Joshua’s protests, he was still ushered to a table and handed a menu. “I really can’t. I don’t have any money.”

Jun waved a hand through the air. “Don’t worry about it! What kind of people would we be if we just let someone who accidentally wound up here starve?” Joshua sighed but realized the other boy wouldn’t budge on the issue. He eventually wound up ordering one of the cheaper meals he could find.

The restaurant was beautiful, not that Joshua expected anything less at this point. There were chandeliers over head (though not as lavish as the ones in the lobby) and the back of the restaurant was open to the air, with a stone path leading to the resort’s water park. Joshua noticed wryly that all the table cloths had diamond patterns around the bottom. He was sure if he made it home he’d never be able to buy anything with the design again.

“Here you are!” Jun said, jerking Joshua out of his musings. A steaming plate of eggs, bacon, sausage and toast was set in front of him.

“That was fast,” Joshua remarked.

“We have too many cooks and not enough customers,” Jun said with a shrug. “Let me know if you need anything else.” He was gone quickly, leaving Joshua to dig in. The food was fantastic, and Joshua ate it faster than he intended once he realized how hungry he was. Walking all day yesterday without dinner had taken a bigger toll than he had thought.

He was interrupted mid bite by someone sliding into the seat across from him. Joshua’s head jerked up and he hurried to swallow the food in his mouth, choking a bit as he did so. The8 smirked at him from across the table. “You alright there?” the Ace asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Fine,” Joshua coughed, reaching for his water. He took a drink before trying to answer again. “Just surprised.”

“Sorry,” The8 said, sounding the opposite of apologetic. “Hoshi just wanted me to let you know that he’s currently in the process of figuring out what to do about your situation and trying to get you into the Heart’s territory. It might take a while though.”

Joshua’s eyes widened. “Really? That’s great! Tell him to take his time. I’m sure he has a lot of other responsibilities.”

The8 shrugged. “It’s no problem getting information about you returning to your world. The bigger problem is making a reservation with the Hearts.”

“A reservation?” Joshua asked. “Is their territory closed off or something?”

“Kind of,” The8 made a so-so gesture, “The territory itself is open, but the main base of the Hearts is a huge dinner theater. They have a bunch of talented performers every night. The waiting list is jam packed because it’s a popular tourist destination.”

“Wow,” Joshua muttered. “I didn’t know it’d be that hard to get into. Will Hoshi really be able to get me a reservation?”

The8 laughed. “Maybe? If Woozi’s in a good mood? Which is like… never.” Joshua grimaced and The8 seemed to notice, softening a bit. “Don’t worry, no one’s more determined then our King. He’ll get you in.”

“I’m not worried,” Joshua said, and The8 gave him a look. Joshua backtracked, “I mean, I am, but I don’t want you guys to go out of you way. I’m just one person.”

The8 frowned, suddenly serious, “Yes, but it’s not like you came here by choice. We want to help you. Let us.” His tone implied that he wouldn't take no for an answer.

Joshua’s protests dried up in his throat at the genuine expression on the other boy’s face. “Okay,” he said, feeling both happy and embarrassed. He couldn’t remember the last time anyone else had seemed to care so much about him.

“Good,” The8 said, leaning back in his chair looking satisfied. “Anyway, while Hoshi is trying to get you a reservation, you’re free to go anywhere around the resort. Here’s a card,” he slid a plastic credit card across the table. Joshua picked it up to see it was a red diamond outlined in white on a black background. “That’ll work anywhere around the Shining Diamond to pay for what you want. Go crazy.”

“I can’t-!” Joshua began.

The8 glared at him. “You said you would let us help you.”

“I…fine,” Joshua sighed. “Thank you.”

The Ace grinned as Joshua gave in. “I would recommend you stay in the resort though. I’ll be able to find you easier if Hoshi has any news.”

“What do you recommend around here?” Joshua asked.

The8 looked thoughtful. “The waterpark is pretty nice,” he said eventually. “You should go on the slide.”

“I don’t have a swimsuit,” Joshua said.

“No, but you do have a credit card and the resort shop is across the lobby,” The8 said meaningfully.

Joshua fiddled with the card in his hands. “I guess there are worst ways to spend the day.”

 

* * *

 

The slide was actually pretty fun, and if Joshua went on it a few times it wasn’t like anyone was judging him. The weather was nice as well, with the sun shining on him, warming his skin. He wondered if he’d have a good tan by the time he got back home. The trunks he’d ended up buying from the resort store had, surprise surprise, a red diamond pattern down the side of them. Joshua wondered if Hoshi had all the diamond stuff custom ordered.

After sliding down for the fifth time, he wandered back to the lawn chair by the pool he’d staked out earlier with one of the towels from his room and his bag. He toweled off and sat back on the lawn chair, content with soaking up the sun. Joshua closed his eyes and absently thought that he wouldn’t mind living here if he were stuck in the Decks, though he imagined that he probably wouldn’t be able to afford living in the Shining Diamond suite he was in now. 

“Is this spot taken?” A voice asked. Joshua’s eyes shot open to see a younger boy with floppy black hair and a towel around his neck looking at him expectantly, one hand shoved the pocket of bright blue swim trunks and the other pointing to something. Joshua followed the boy’s finger to where he was pointing to a lawn chair on Joshua’s left.

“No, it’s free,” Joshua said, a bit weirded out internally at how the boy had chosen the spot next to him when there were dozens of other chairs open around the pool.

“Cool,” the boy said, using his free hand to drop the towel on the lawn chair and started getting comfortable. Joshua decided it was probably best to ignore the kid, and tried to get resettled on his chair. 

“Have you been here long?” the kid asked, regaining Joshua’s attention. He looked over to see the boy was still standing by the chair, looking like he knew how Joshua would answer.

“Uh, no,” Joshua said, a little unnerved. “Got here recently.” He tried to keep his answer vague.

The boy nodded, smiling. “You definitely don’t look like you’re from around here.” That made Joshua frown because he didn’t think much about him stood out. “Your hand,” the boy explained.

Joshua had almost forgotten that he didn’t have a marking like the other occupants of the Decks. No one had brought up his Suitless status at the pool, so he’d thought only the Suits’ courts had cared about that. “Oh, yeah,” he replied, at a loss for how to respond.

“Don’t worry, I’m not going to try and convince you to join anyone,” the kid said. He plopped down in the lawn chair, casual as ever. “Jonghyun seems to trust you, so I thought I’d come see for myself.”

Joshua stiffened at the mention of the boy he’d met when he first woke up. From what he’d heard Jonghyun, no, the Wild Card, was most likely a part of if not responsible for the Spades’ disappearance. “How do you know Jonghyun?” Joshua asked, blood turning to ice in his veins as his voice rose. His eyes darted around the pool area, looking for any of the other Diamonds to possibly call for help, but he couldn’t find any of them. The fact that this kid knew Jonghyun's name when even the Kings didn't was even more worrying.

“Don’t make a scene,” the kid said, sounding unconcerned. “I’m not here to hurt you.” He rolled his eyes. “In fact, I want to give you some advice.” He met Joshua’s gaze evenly.

“Who are you?” Joshua blurted, unable to keep it in.

The kid sighed before extending his right hand to Joshua so a red ‘J’ with no Suit was visible. He narrowed his eyes at Joshua. “Jonghyun’s pretty new to his current Role, but he seems to trust you. Since you haven’t spilled his name so far, I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt. My name’s Samuel, and I’m the other Wild Card.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hoshi is currently doing some grade A begging to get a reservation at Woozi's place. It's not going that well.


	5. Joshua Gets Information In Spades

Joshua’s mouth dropped open, but no sound came out. A million thoughts raced through his head at once. His first impulse was to try and run away, but the other boy’s unimpressed look made him think that might be a bad idea. He doubted he’d be able to grab the bat he’d received from the Clubs if Samuel was truly as powerful as all the Suits seemed to believe a Wild Card was. Seeing no other options and with none of the Diamonds in sight, Joshua forced himself to try and calm down and not look too shaken. Given by Samuel’s amused expression, he had limited success.

“Like I said, I’m not here to hurt you.” The boy leaned back in his chair. “I just wanted to let you know what you’re getting into. The King told you about the history of the Decks, right?” Joshua nodded, wondering how Samuel could’ve known that. “Great, that makes my job easier. I’m going to give you an option, and you’re free to take it or leave it.”

“Alright,” Joshua agreed slowly. Samuel smiled at him, and Joshua thought briefly that he would never imagine it possible that Samuel (or even Jonghyun) were capable of taking down an entire Suit. The Wild Cards he’d encountered so far were just too unassuming.

“There are Spades still out there,” Samuel stated bluntly, catching Joshua off guard. 

Joshua blinked. “What?” he asked, wondering if he’d heard wrong.

The Wild Card laughed. “Yeah, they’re still out there. They just don’t want to be found right now. Unfortunately, the others are right when they say the Spades lost nearly all their power. It’s actually a pretty sad story.”

“Are you saying you know how it happened?” Joshua asked.

Samuel nodded. “I do. It’s a little different from what you’ll hear from the Suits, especially since they think the other Wild Card is capable of wiping a whole Suit off the map.” The boy shook his head before fixing Joshua with a serious gaze. “If I tell you the truth, don’t repeat it to anyone. Can you promise me that?”

Joshua hesitated, feeling a little uncomfortable with the idea of keeping secrets from the people who had done so much for him since he’d arrived. “Do I have a choice?”

“You always have a choice,” Samuel said seriously, looking Joshua in the eyes. In the other boy’s gaze, Joshua saw a hint of vulnerability that betrayed the carefree front Samuel put up. As if Samuel was also a victim of whatever tragedy had happened in the Decks as much as any of the Suits.

“Alright,” Joshua found himself saying. “I don’t like it, but alright.”

Samuel let out a slow breath in relief. “Okay. So you know how all the Kings of the Decks sent their magic into the Carat to open the door to alternate universes?” Joshua nodded, recalling Hoshi’s earlier story. “Well, the problem is they opened the door going out and then didn’t make a door for things to return.”

Joshua’s eyes widened. “You mean there’s another portal in this world?”

Samuel nodded. “Yes. If someone here can manage to open that doorway, then things will be able to leave and return more freely, including people of this world. Including magic.” The boy raised his eyebrows meaningfully. There was a beat of silence.

“You’re saying it could bring all the magic back to this world?” Joshua asked excitedly, sitting up straight in his lawn chair.

“Kind of,” Samuel replied, making a face. “I mean, yes, opening a door would start letting magic flow back into this world, but it’s not that simple. Do you know how much magic it took to fully unlock the Carat’s potential?” Joshua shook his head slowly. “It took all of the Spades’ power.” 

Even though the sun was still shining outside, Joshua felt cold as Samuel’s words sank in. “You mean they sacrificed all their power to open the doorway?”

Samuel nodded. “Before that, the only people that could leave this universe were people from other universes. Now, if anyone tried, they could leave but they wouldn’t be able to come back using the same method. That being said, opening a return door would require every magical person in the Decks to cooperate. Only then would magic be able to start building back up in this world.”

“I thought only the Kings had magic now,” Joshua said, confused. “And you just said that the Spades lost all their magic opening the first door.”

“That’s partially true,” Samuel agreed. “The Spades did lose it all, but their King was able to tap into a different magical source by changing Roles.” He gave Joshua a look.

There were a few seconds of silence as Joshua tried to work through what Samuel was saying, but then all the pieces seemed to fall into place. “You mean Jonghyun?” he asked, barely believing what he’d just said.

Samuel smiled. “Jonghyun was right when he said you were smart. Yes, Jonghyun is, well, was the King of Spades. He took on the Role of the Wild Card to tap into another magical source, the one that I use, in hopes of finding a way to open the opposite doorway.”

Joshua’s mind was racing with all the new information. “If that’s the case, why didn’t he just tell the other Kings? Surely they would’ve helped him open the door.”

Samuel bit his lip. “Because he felt ashamed. He essentially used the rest of his Territory’s power to open the doorway, and they crumbled because of it. Even though his court didn’t blame him, he still felt responsible. It’s part of why he took a new Role. He felt like he didn’t deserve to be their King anymore.”

“That’s…awful,” Joshua said, thinking of the man he’d met when he first landed in the Decks. Though Jonghyun was odd and a little awkward, he had at least been kind enough to point Joshua to the Clubs and Seungcheol rather than leaving him floundering in the middle of the woods. The fact that he was apparently avoiding seeing his former friends and allies out of guilt, and was even blamed by the Suits for the Spades’ demise was terribly sad.

Samuel sighed. “I keep telling him that he should just go back and explain to the others what really happened, but he insists that he can’t until he finds out how to fix everything.”

“But doesn’t he need all the others’ help to even open the door?” Joshua asked.

“Yes,” Samuel confirmed, “But he also needs to unearth the other gem first. He’s located the doorway, but it’s buried. He and the other Spades are trying to bring it up to the surface. I told him it’d go faster if he asked for help, but I think he’s scared to approach the other Kings after all this time.”

Joshua felt a wave of sympathy for Jonghyun. “Can I help at all?”

Samuel grinned widely at Joshua. “I was hoping you’d ask. In fact, there is a way you can help. The option I’m offering is for you to just keep doing what you’re doing,” at Joshua’s blank look, he smirked, “The Clubs and Diamonds seem to like you, but you still need to get Woozi and the Hearts on your side. Once you do, that’s when the real hard part comes in. You need to convince them to meet with Jonghyun. Once they see him I’m sure they’ll help, but the problem is getting them to agree to meet him in the first place, especially since they believe the Wild Cards are the ones who took down their friends’ Suit.”

Joshua ran a hand through his hair. “This is so complicated.”

The Wild Card laughed. “You’re telling me. I still don’t really get how the politics of this place work.” Joshua frowned, something about Samuel’s statement bugging him. The way he’d referred to the Decks sounded like something an observer or outsider might say.

Samuel suddenly got to his feet. “Well, that’s all I really wanted to tell you Joshua. Remember, keep this a secret until you manage to get on good terms with all the Suits. It’ll be hard, but I think you can do it. Jonghyun seems to think so too.” He winked at Joshua. “If you ever need me or Jonghyun, we’ll be able to know if you say our actual names. I trust you not to reveal that to anyone else. See you around.” Before Joshua could protest or ask any more questions, Samuel disappeared right in front of his eyes.

Joshua stared at the lawn chair Samuel had been sitting in only seconds ago unbelievingly. He blinked hard, as if he might wake up back in his hotel suite to find it had all been a dream, but when he reopened his eyes he was still at the pool, the sound of trickling water from the slide seeming to mock him. He lay back on the chair and let out a long breath. ‘I miss when my biggest problem was math homework,’ Joshua thought absently, suddenly feeling very tired.

 

~~~~~

 

The8 found him like that hours later in the evening, Joshua still staring at the sky, looking like he was contemplating the meaning of life. “You alright there?” The8 asked tentatively, raising an eyebrow. 

“I honestly don’t know,” Joshua replied truthfully. “This world is a lot to take in.”

The8 nodded sympathetically. “We hear that from a lot of universe jumpers.”

Joshua sighed, knowing he couldn’t ask The8 anything about the Wild Cards or Spades without it being suspicious. “What’s up?” he tried instead.

“Oh, well I just came to let you know that Hoshi got back from the city recently. He wants to talk to you in the basement after he finishes up a few things in his office. You know, where we all met yesterday? I came to walk you down. The rest of the court should be there too.”

“Really? That’s great!” Joshua exclaimed excitedly, pulling his shirt on. “Uh, do I have time to change back into my pants?” He looked down at his swim trunks. Luckily they were dry after sitting for hours, but he didn’t know if there was some kind of dress code when meeting with the full court.

The8 smirked. “Nah, you’re fine. The King doesn’t even usually dress up for these things.” He looked at Joshua expectantly as he gathered his things from the lawn chair and got to his feet. Once Joshua was ready, The8 turned and led him back into the hotel, down the hallway to the elevators, and eventually through the huge dance floor to the booths lining the back wall again.

Jun was sitting at the table already, waving at the two of them, and they The8 slid into the spot on Jun’s right, while Joshua did the same on his left side. “So how was the pool?” Jun asked excitedly. “Did you go on the slide?”

“A few times,” Joshua replied, matching Jun’s enthusiastic smile. “It was more fun than I expected.”

Jun bobbed his head. “Yeah, Hoshi had it custom designed! It took probably about a month to get all of it installed.” He shook his head. “But the kids love it!”

“Hey!” Joshua looked up in time for Dino to slide next to him in the booth. The Jack offered Joshua a grin. “Sorry I missed you this morning. I was running errands for Hoshi since he was out.”

“That’s fine,” Joshua replied. “I had assumed you were busy. It can’t be easy to run such a big resort along with the rest of your Territory.”

Dino groaned. “Don’t remind me. There’s been a lot of tension stirring lately.” He gave Joshua an unreadable look. “Apparently someone heard about the Wild Card making an appearance.”

Joshua stiffened in his seat, prompting The8 to give him a concerned look. He tried to play it off casually, but failed. “Oh really?” he asked. He wondered if it was possible any of them knew about Samuel, or if they thought the only Wild Card was Jonghyun.

“You don’t have to worry,” Jun said reassuringly. “You’re safe here. I doubt the Wild Card would try and take on a Suit anytime soon now that we know about them.”

“I guess…” Joshua said, grateful that they took his reaction as a case of nerves.

“I got word from the Queen of Clubs that their King is working on it now,” Dino added. “So hopefully they’ll manage to track down whoever it was so it won’t happen again.” 

Joshua nodded and gave a weak smile. “Yeah…I hope they find that guy. Um, just out of curiosity, is the Wild Card really that dangerous?” He rushed to defend himself at the odd looks he received. “I mean, how could one person topple a whole Suit when they’re so big?”

“There are a lot of theories,” The8 said, jumping into the conversation. “Some think that the Wild Card has the ability to absorb magic, so he just leeched the magic out of the Spades until they couldn’t power their Territory anymore.”

“There’s also a theory that the Wild Card is actually the one who dropped the Carat here in the first place and hoped that we’d send all our magic into it so we could be picked off,” Jun added.

Joshua gaped at that. “They think the Wild Card’s responsible for the Carat?”

The Queen of Diamonds shrugged. “No one can be sure. All we know is that the Carat isn’t from this world, and the it’s looking like the Wild Card isn’t either. From the few reports we have, the Wild Card can appear and vanish at will, which wasn’t an ability anyone in the Decks or anyone in the surrounding areas had. It’s not too outlandish to assume the Wild Card is from another world with all the visitors we get.”

“The other big theory is that there are multiple Wild Cards,” Dino chimed in. Joshua did a slightly better job hiding his reaction this time, but he still bit his lip hard enough to make it sting. “It would make a lot more sense if a group of people took down a Suit rather than just one.” The words hovered over the table uneasily. Joshua felt pressure growing in his gut as he suppressed the urge to blurt out anything about Samuel or Jonghyun.

“Well, that got depressing,” The8 muttered, drumming his fingers on the table.

“I’ll say,” a voice chimed in. Joshua looked over from his silent internal crisis to see Hoshi walking up to the table. He was wearing a more formal suit with a diamond embroidered at the ends of his cuffs, somehow still managing to look professional despite his bright orange hair. His expression was tired but happy. “I’m only ten minutes late, but I’m greeted with doom and gloom.” He slid into the booth next to The8 and across from Joshua.

“We’re just talking about the message from the Queen of Clubs,” Dino relayed.

“Ah,” Hoshi replied nodding. “I wouldn’t worry about that too much for the moment. There haven’t been any solid sightings of the Wild Card since you told the Clubs about your encounter.” He gave Joshua a wide grin. “Plus Diamond territory is completely secure. No Wild Cards are getting in here.”

Joshua tried to return the grin, but it came out as more of a grimace. He could practically hear Samuel laughing at the King’s statement. “That’s reassuring.”

Hoshi nodded. “But that wasn’t what I called this meeting for. I wanted to talk to you all because I have good news.” He pulled an envelope out of his suit jacket and placed it on the center of the table. “Well?” The King looked at Joshua expectantly.

Joshua hesitantly reached out and grabbed the envelope, tearing it open carefully. Once he opened it, he pulled out two tickets that claimed admittance for one guest to a place called Love Letter. “I’m guessing this is the Hearts' territory?” Joshua tried.

Hoshi nodded excitedly. “Yeah. Woozi was pretty stubborn at first, but you’ll be able to get in tomorrow evening. That was the earliest I can manage.”

“That’s more than I expected,” Joshua assured the King eagerly. “Thank you for doing that for me.” He looked around the table. “Thank all of you really. I’m grateful for the room and everything.” He pulled the card The8 had given him earlier out of his pocket. "I feel a little bad just using this for everything."

“It’s no problem,” Hoshi replied, smiling. Joshua slid the credit card back in his pocket and he looked back at the tickets.

A thought suddenly struck Joshua. “Wait, there are two tickets here,” Joshua said, holding them up. “Is someone going with me?”

Hoshi grimaced. “They come in pairs since each table in the dinner theater seats at least two. I personally can’t get away to go with you, but if anyone else can?” He glanced at the other Diamonds.

Dino shook his head as he pulled up a calendar app on his phone. “I have to help in the kitchens at dinner tomorrow,” the Jack said apologetically.

“I’m going into the city to help with the reconstruction efforts of that abandoned hotel,” The8 said, frowning.

“And I’m on desk duty,” Jun sighed. “Sorry.”

“It’s fine, it’s pretty short notice anyway,” Joshua said, turning to the King. “Would it be fine if I go alone?”

Hoshi frowned. “It should be, but if you find anyone just let me know.” He then laughed. “If you want, I could see if any of the Clubs are busy.”

Joshua shook his head. “No, I’m sure they have other things to do. I’d hate to bother them. Thank you anyway.” He returned Hoshi’s smile. After that, conversations tapered off as Dino laid out the schedule for the rest of the Diamonds for the next day. Joshua pondered over what he should do, toying with the tickets in his hand. He didn’t like the idea of going alone, but it looked like he didn’t have any other option unless…

He bit his lip and looked around the table. “I’m going to head to bed,” he announced.

“Okay, sleep well!” Jun said, beaming and giving Joshua a wave. Dino slid out of the booth so Joshua could leave.

“Yes, good night!” Hoshi said, Dino and The8 echoing him. “Let me know if you do actually find anyone you want to go with.

Joshua nodded, bowing slightly to all of them. “I will. See you all tomorrow.” And he left the room, striding across the dance floor to the elevators and pressing the button for the seventeenth floor. The doors slid shut on the lounge, and he leaned back against the elevator wall with a sigh. The idea that he’d had at the table nagged at him. It was probably a terrible idea, but still…

He was jolted out of his thoughts when the elevator doors slid back open, and he quickly went into his suite. Joshua flopped down on the bed and held the two tickets for the next night over his head. He briefly wondered what the Hearts would be like. Everyone he'd talked to seemed to view the Hearts as strict, so Joshua was a little nervous at the thought of going alone.

Joshua sat up on the bed for a minute before getting to his feet and walking out onto the balcony. He looked over the pool that he’d spent the day at as the sun began dipping below the horizon. It was now or never.

“Um, Samuel?” Joshua said out loud, feeling a bit silly talking to himself. “I have something I want to ask, and you’re free to say no, but I think it might help with whatever you and the Spades are working on.” He waited a few moments and heard no response. He wondered if he should try again, mentally debating if it would even work. Joshua turned back toward the room, only to nearly jump out of his skin when he found Samuel in front of his balcony door smirking at him. “Ah!”

Samuel doubled over in laughter. “Oh my god, your face!” he said in between laughs. “I wish I’d gotten a picture!”

Joshua took a deep breath and tried to collect himself, one hand over his heart as it tried to beat out of his chest. “It’s really alarming that you can do that,” Joshua said. “Can’t you at least make some noise like a normal person?”

“Nope!” Samuel replied cheerfully. “So what did you need?”

Joshua sighed. “I got two tickets to the Hearts’ territory. I just thought I’d ask if you wanted to come with me to scope it out. Not that way!” he hurried to add when Samuel made a face, “I mean, you’re like five.”

“I’m sixteen!” Samuel cried, offended.

“Same difference,” Joshua said. “But anyway, I thought I’d offer in case you want to scope out the place or meet any of the Hearts.”

The Wild Card looked thoughtful. “I mean that might help. It’s not like Jonghyun needs me to help him right now anyway since he and the Spades are so focused on uncovering the other gem.” He huffed. “Alright, I’ll do it,” he agreed after a minute of deliberation, grinning at Joshua. “When do I need to be here?”

Joshua glanced down at the tickets. “Well, it looks like the reservation is at seven, but I’m not sure how long it’ll take to get to the theatre.”

“It’s about an hour if you’re walking,” Samuel said, tilting his head. “I’ll get here at 5:30 just to be safe. The King of Hearts tends to get mad if guests are late, and you’re going to want to stay on his good side.”

Joshua grimaced. “People keep saying things that make me not want to meet the Hearts.”

The other boy laughed. “You’ll be fine. They’re all very nice actually once you get to know them.” Samuel looked over the balcony toward the water park, though it seemed like he was looking much farther into the distance. “Everyone in this place is a lot nicer than you’d expect.” The feeling from earlier that bothered him about Samuel was back.

“Hey Samuel,” Joshua began hesitantly, drawing the other boy’s eyes back to him. “Are you from the Decks?”

“Oh my god, look at the time!” Samuel exclaimed abruptly, ignoring Joshua’s question and the fact that there was no clock anywhere Joshua could see. “I’ll meet you in the lobby tomorrow. See you around!” The boy vanished right in front of Joshua’s face.

The Suitless boy stood there for a moment before he sighed and shook his head, going back into his suite. “Why does everyone here insist on being so cryptic?” he muttered, flopping on the bed bonelessly. He closed his eyes and drifted off before he could think more about it.

 

* * *

 

  _He was in a place watching a pair of hands shuffle a deck of cards. One hand turned over a card which then split into four, each one a King for a different Suit._

_“Pick a card,” a voice said. Joshua looked up from the cards to see Jonghyun smiling at him. “Well? Aren’t you going to choose?”_

_Joshua reached forward and…_

 

* * *

 

 Joshua woke up in his suite at three in the morning in a cold sweat. He sat up and tried to take some deep breaths to calm himself. After a few minutes, he laid back down and shut his eyes, drifting off once more. He could remember nothing from the dream when he woke up the second time, only a faint sense of unease in his gut.


	6. Joshua Has A Heart To Heart

Joshua’s watch read 5:30 when he looked down at it, and he shifted his weight nervously to glance back around. He’d been waiting outside the Shining Diamond for fifteen minutes, and Samuel was still nowhere in sight. To the Wild Card’s credit, he did say the meet up time was now, but his parents had always drilled into him to show up early to events, especially when travel could be unpredicatable. Joshua glanced back down at the (of course) diamond shaped watch Hoshi had given him earlier. 5:31. He groaned.

“I’m only one minute late,” a voice said, sounding mock offended. Joshua whirled around to see Samuel grinning at him. The other boy waved before shoving his hands in his pockets, already starting to wrinkle his nice button up shirt. Joshua noted that the Wild Card’s mark was covered by fingerless gloves. “Don’t worry, we’ll be there on time.”

Joshua sighed. “Sorry. I’m just anxious about all this.” He tugged at the cuffs of his own nicely pressed shirt that Jun had provided him. “Ever since I got here I’ve heard things about the Hearts, and I don’t know what to expect.”

“Oh really?” the Wild Card asked. “What kind of things?”

Joshua thought about Hoshi’s tone when he mentioned the King of Hearts, fear and respect, “I don’t know. The King of Diamonds sounded like he had a hard time getting these tickets. And Dino told me this morning that the Queen of Hearts was overbearing, and it sounded like he was speaking from personal experience.”

Samuel laughed. “The reason Hoshi had such a tough time was because of Woozi. The King of Hearts,” Samuel clarified at Joshua’s questioning look, “He’s pretty strict and sometimes grouchy, but he’s reasonable. And don’t worry about the Queen. That’s mainly Dino’s problem. I’m sure you’ll be fine. Like I said earlier, they’re all very nice.” Samuel glanced at the sun, which was already starting to get lower in the sky. “We should probably start over there though. Don’t want to miss our reservation.”

The duo set off down the path out of the city. Passing through the market place Joshua had gone to earlier and navigating a maze of side streets until they were at the edge of the territory. Joshua hoped Samuel knew where he was going as they started through the forest. He certainly had no idea where they were, and he hoped he’d be able to get back to the hotel alright, or maybe get a place to stay in Hearts territory.

“So,” Samuel began, jerking Joshua out of his thoughts, “What’s your world like then?”

The Suitless boy was stunned for a second. “My world?”

“Yeah,” Samuel said, nodding expectantly. “Since you’re from another world, what’s your world like? Do you have flying cars? Magic? Chickens?”

“Um, not yet, no, and yes,” Joshua replied. He paused. “Have you met someone whose world doesn’t have chickens?”

Samuel shrugged. “No, but it probably exists.” The Wild Card frowned. “It would suck to live there though.”

Joshua laughed. “Yeah, I agree.” He thought about his old life, and found some of the details already fuzzy, much to his alarm. “I lived in a place called Los Angeles,” he told Samuel. The boy perked up, motioning for Joshua to continue. “It was always really warm. I spent a lot of my time singing in my church-“

“Singing?” Samuel interrupted, “You’ll really love where we’re going then. You know how it’s a dinner theater, right?” Joshua nodded. “All the Hearts sing.”

Joshua raised an eyebrow. “Like how all the Diamonds dance?” He laughed. “What do the Clubs do?”

Samuel considered it for a moment. “Look good?” he offered. Joshua shook his head in amusement. “Anyway, sorry I interrupted. Continue.”

Joshua took a second to think about what he’d been saying. “Oh, right,” he said, picking up his previous train of thought. “I sang in church. I always loved singing. I was even going to go to an audition for some company before I ended up here.”

“You were going to sing professionally then?” Samuel asked, looking impressed.

“Yeah,” Joshua confirmed. “At least, I was going to try to.” He sighed as the memories started coming back slowly of his trip to the audition. “It’s too late for that now. It’s probably been a week since I got here.” His mood sunk as he realized that his opportunity had slipped away, at least for another year. He’d been so determined this time too…

“You never know,” Samuel said encouragingly. “A lot of universe jumpers say that time passes differently in the Decks. Maybe you’ll get back in time for your audition.” Joshua doubted it, but he appreciated the effort the Wild Card was putting into cheering him up.

“Maybe,” he replied noncommittally. “Have you talked with a lot of universe jumpers?”

Samuel’s face screwed up. “Not personally, but I hear a lot of things. They mostly talk with the Kings, and then I hear about it through Court gossip whenever I manage to teleport into a territory.”

“Have you never met anyone in the Courts personally then?’ Joshua asked, surprised. From how knowledgeable Samuel was, he would’ve guessed that the boy had at least made contact with the Suits.

“I have, but they don’t really remember me,” Samuel said, shrugging. “It comes with the Role. I can meet someone, and they’ll only have the vaguest impression of me after a few days. If a month goes by, they’ll probably have forgotten me entirely.” He was grinning as he said it, but Joshua saw something deeper and sadder just beneath the boy’s expression.

“For what it’s worth,” Joshua began, “I think you’re very memorable. I doubt I could forget you even if I tried.”

Samuel looked surprised for a second before he burst out into a wide grin, an amount more genuine than the one he was wearing before. “Thanks,” he said. They continued their walk in a comfortable silence, only occasionally remarking on the woods or the Deck’s odd inhabitants. Joshua was almost disappointed when the forest finally ended and a glowing city that had to be Hearts territory appeared in the distance.

 

* * *

 

 Love Letter was a glittery lit up tourist trap of a building. Joshua’s could feel his eyebrows shoot up as he stared up at the curling pink neon letters that made up the theater’s name. His gaze lowered slowly to the large red doors at the building’s entrance. He felt totally out of his depth. If the Shining Diamond was where rich people stayed, Love Letter was where celebrities ate. It was no wonder Hoshi had trouble getting tickets to the place.

“Uh,” Joshua said, trying to take in the glamorous building. He absently wondered how it managed to stand out this much without being tacky.

Samuel laughed. “Yeah, it has that effect on people.” He nudged Joshua in the direction of the doors, and Joshua started forward hesitantly. “Don’t worry, it’s not like anyone is going to look at you funny.”

Joshua doubted that, but it was too late to reconsider when Samuel pushed one of the doors open and motioned the Suitless boy inside. The inside was still impressive, with large chandeliers hanging from the ceiling and a vast array of circular tables set up around a sunken dining area. 

What really drew Joshua’s attention was a huge stage at the back that had a smaller runway jutting out from it. It was lit with an array of expensive looking lights along the runway, and a shiny black piano sat on the main stage area. No one was playing or performing at the moment, but music still floated softly through the dining area.

“Good evening, table for two?” Joshua tore his eyes away from the stage to see a boy wearing a crisp uniform staring at him and Samuel expectantly.

“Uh yes,” Joshua said, fumbling around in his pockets for the tickets. “We have a reservation.” He handed them over to the waiter, who scanned them quickly.

He grinned. “Ah yes, our guests of honor for the night. Right this way.” He began to lead them toward the sunken dining area, weaving through tables. Joshua and Samuel had to struggle to keep up with him.

“Guests of honor?” Joshua whispered to Samuel. The Wild Card just shrugged in response, apparently at as much of a loss as much as Joshua was.

“Your table is here,” the waiter said, holding out a chair for a table right at the foot of the runway. Joshua sat down with a word of thanks as Samuel did the same across the table. The table itself had expensive looking silverware and glasses. Joshua licked his lips nervously as he put the dark red napkin in his lap.

“Fancy as ever,” Samuel muttered, glancing around. The place was nearly filled up with all the other tables being occupied. “This’ll be the first time I’m here because I paid though.” He gave Joshua a mischievous grin. Joshua briefly worried that Samuel would pull some kind of prank judging by the kid’s expression, but he wasn’t given time to dwell on it as the overhead lights dimmed.

A spotlight flashed on, directing the patrons’ gazes to the stage. A short boy walked out on stage and sat at the piano. Joshua took a moment to admire the boy’s outfit, a nice black vest over a spotless white button up, black slacks and shiny black shoes. The only decoration on the outfit was a red heart sewn over where his actual heart would be. Joshua took a cue from the rest of the people in the restaurant and began applauding.

The boy adjusted the microphone set over the piano. “Thank you for coming this evening,” he said in a dry voice, expression not changing. “The first performer of the night will be the Jack of Hearts.” Without any further ado, the boy raised his hands over the keys and began to play a very upbeat piece that startled Joshua.

He looked to Samuel. “The Court members perform here?” Joshua asked.

Samuel nodded. “Yeah. Like I said before, all Hearts sing.”

Joshua watched as a younger boy strode out on stage, waving and grinning widely. “Hello, Love Letter!” the boy, presumably the Jack of Hearts, cried. “Sit back and relax, because we have quite the show for you tonight!” 

And, true to his word, the boy broke into a song that had Joshua’s jaw dropping. He didn’t know a person’s voice could go that high, but the boy on stage was performing effortlessly, grinning at the audience during the musical riffs and spinning around in a theatrical manner. He was by far one of the best performers Joshua had ever seen live, and Joshua was sure the boy would’ve been in an idol group or something similar back in his world.

During his performance, the boy walked out on the runway, serenading all the tables he passed along the way. When Joshua glanced at the piano, the player sitting there was smiling fondly as the song picked up tempo. The performer finally reached the end of the runway where Joshua and Samuel’s table sat. He beamed at the two of them, making an exaggerated hand movement that showered them in heart shaped confetti.

“Oh my god!” Samuel laughed, combing his fingers through his hair to get the confetti pieces out as Joshua did the same.

“It’s a good thing our food wasn’t here,” Joshua remarked, watching the singer walk back down the runway. When the song ended, the theater burst into applause and whistles as the Jack of Hearts took a bow on the main stage. “That was amazing,” Joshua said, clapping along with the rest of them. “I see now why it takes forever to get into this place.”

Samuel nodded. “It puts on some of the best shows I’ve seen in the Decks, next to the Diamond’s yearly dance festival.” The music started up again, and the singer launched into another performance, barely even looking winded as he bounced around on stage with a wide smile.

“Are you two ready to order?” Joshua’s eyes snapped away from the performance at the voice. He turned to see the waiter staring at them expectantly, a pad of paper in his hand. Joshua hadn’t even looked at the menu yet, and he waved for Samuel to go, taking some time to scan the items. His stomach twisted as he realized the food didn’t have the prices next to them, most likely meaning they were more expensive than Joshua could imagine. He would have to do something big for Hoshi to pay the man back.

“I’ll have the filet,” Joshua said finally, picking the first meal that jumped out to him. The waiter nodded and took their menus before disappearing. Joshua looked back up at the stage where the Jack of Hearts was singing a slower song next to the piano. “How am I ever going to meet the King of Hearts?” Joshua sighed. He imagined the King would be too busy running such a large establishment and show production to even bother with Joshua’s problem.

Samuel frowned. “Maybe there’ll be a break and you can go up and meet him?”

Joshua blinked. “Does he perform?” He hadn’t been expecting that, though he probably should have given how involved Hoshi and S.Coups had been in their Territory’s affairs.

The Wild Card grinned. “Of course! He’s up there right now!”

Joshua confusedly looked up at the stage where the singer was building up the song dramatically. ‘I thought that was the Jack of Hearts,’ Joshua thought. His eyes widened, ‘Unless…’

“The piano player?” he asked, stunned.

Samuel laughed. “Yep! That’s Woozi.” Joshua watched as the song ended and both the Jack and apparent King of Hearts stood up to bow. When Woozi’s head raised, the King scanned the crowd with a tight smile. His eyes met Joshua’s for a brief moment, and Joshua abruptly knew the King was not someone to be messed with. He gulped nervously, and only marginally relaxed when the King’s gaze moved on. ‘I get why all the other Suits were worried about convincing the Hearts now.’


End file.
